Mother’s Day Isn’t One Feeling

The days leading up to my first Mother’s Day looked beautiful on the outside.

I spent the afternoon taking mother–daughter photos in a quiet park, sunlight filtering through the trees, laughing between shots.

And then on the drive home, something settled in:

My mom wasn’t there to see me be a mom.

It was bittersweet in a way I couldn’t explain at the time. I felt her presence so clearly that day — in the laughter, in the pride she always carried for me — but her physical presence was missing.

Both things were true at once.

That’s what Mother’s Day has taught me:some seasons hold gratitude and grief at the same time.

Now, I see her in the way I mother, the way I love, and the way I hold space for my daughter.

Legacy moves like that.

If today feels joyful, hold that.If it feels tender, hold that too.

You don’t have to edit your feelings to deserve this day.

— The Blackologist

Comment below:

What’s one thing you wish you could ask your mother today?